A/HRC/17/41
legal assistance, and participate in the integrated humanitarian emergency response
activated in the aftermath of the June 2010 violence.
27.
OHCHR has 22 staff on mission in Osh and Jalal-Abad, where meetings are
regularly held with local authorities to highlight and discuss possible interventions in terms
of human rights protection.
28.
OHCHR staff in Osh and Jalal-Abad have actively engaged in protection and human
rights work. An OHCHR helpline number was set up in July 2010, and it is estimated that,
as of February 2011, more than 1,500 calls had been received. With regard to reports of
ongoing or imminent human rights violations or threats thereof, OHCHR and its national
NGO partners immediately respond through the deployment of teams which, depending on
the situation, take appropriate action, including at times by raising concerns with local lawenforcement and judicial bodies. In other cases, victims, individuals at risk and others who
seek consultations directly approach human rights officers.
29.
OHCHR has partnered with local legal NGOs in Osh and Jalal-Abad, which have
provided free legal assistance for those who have reported human rights violations that
occurred either during or following the June 2010 violence. To date, more than 7,000
consultations have taken place.
30.
In the past years, prior to the crisis of 2010, ROCA had developed a network of
reliable local partners in the human rights sector in Kyrgyzstan. Many civil society
organizations have served as effective response mechanisms to human rights concerns.
Significant work has notably been achieved by OHCHR local partners in the areas of legal
assistance, conflict prevention, reconciliation and minority rights.
B.
Cooperation with international counterparts
31.
ROCA maintains regular cooperation and information exchange with United Nations
agencies, programmes and funds and offices in Kyrgyzstan, in particular with UNDP, the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment
of Women (UN-Women), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World
Health Organization, the International Labour Organization and the World Food
Programme. Regular exchange of information is ensured with the international community
through weekly coordination meetings organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek.
32.
In addition to supporting the United Nations Country Team in Kyrgyzstan and
ensuring human rights mainstreaming in United Nations activities, ROCA played a key role
within the humanitarian country team in response to the crisis that was caused by the
outbreak of violence in June 2010. Timing was of critical importance in the aftermath of the
June 2010 events; its capacity to take action allowed the Office to play a preventive role
and to undertake protection activities which are essential to integrating human rights into
the broader humanitarian response.
33.
ROCA has also regularly briefed the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral, Head of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central
Asia, on the human rights situation. The Regional Office, on behalf of the United Nations
system in Kyrgyzstan and with the European Union and OSCE, co-chairs the established
donor coordination working group on reconciliation and conflict prevention that is aimed at
guiding and analysing efforts being undertaken in this sphere. OHCHR will continue its
cooperation with regional organizations.
34.
As a response to the July 2010 inter-ethnic violence, the cluster system was
activated to coordinate emergency activities. OHCHR chairs the human rights sub-cluster,
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